Chapter 4: Is He in Love?

Jinzhou is a small city with a slow pace of life. People getting off work ride their bicycles in twos and threes along the streets. Yang Tianxing and Shao Ziyang stroll slowly in the afterglow of the sunset; the dusk, with its charming light and shadows, stretches their figures long and thin.

Yang Tianxing has been looking at the scenery with great interest the entire way. After more than a dozen years, some of the buildings no longer exist, so witnessing them again makes the feeling very surreal.

"Little Yang, why don't you come to my place for dinner?"

Shao Ziyang says, pulling at Yang Tianxing, who is busy looking at the scenery.

Yang Tianxing waves his hand to refuse: "Let's skip it today. I'll go see Aunt Huang another day; I'm going home to have a meal with my old man and old lady."

Shao Ziyang is stunned for a moment: "Don't you usually always complain that they're long-winded?"

"You don't understand."

Yang Tianxing doesn't offer much explanation and simply waves to say goodbye: "I'm off, heading home."

Watching his good friend's back under the dim streetlights, Shao Ziyang inexplicably feels as if he has many stories to tell.

…………

Yang Tianxing stands at his own doorway. He originally intended to knock gently, but as soon as he raises his hand, a "thump-thump" sound rings out, and he can't help but shout: "Mom, I'm back!"

"The whole building knows every time you come home. How old are you? Aren't you ashamed?" Gao Meilan says, nagging as she opens the door.

"Where's the admission letter?"

Yang Tianxing gives a "hehe" and hands over the letter. Gao Meilan takes it with satisfaction, reading the words on the bright red cover—"Student Yang Tianxing is hereby admitted to study 'Public Administration'; please report to this school on September 1, 2002, with this letter"—and her face beams with joy.

Although domestic universities began expanding enrollment in 1999, the influence is not yet that far-reaching, and the value and prestige of a university student can still be maintained for a while longer.

"Did you cook, old lady?" Yang Tianxing squeezes into the house.

Facing his mother's fierce glare as he enters, Yang Tianxing doesn't feel much; instead, he thinks the living room is a bit stuffy. He rummages through the sofa for the air conditioner remote: "It's so hot, and you don't even know to turn on the AC. Where's my dad?"

"Your dad isn't off work yet. Go take a shower first."

"I already showered this morning!"

"Who knows where you went off to play? You've been gone so long. Go, go!" Gao Meilan picks up a spatula and makes a gesture to hit him.

Yang Tianxing hurriedly ducks into the bathroom. The hot water pouring over his body makes his limbs and bones feel refreshed, and at the same time, he begins to think about his future entrepreneurial plans.

Without any startup capital, most of the things he could do are cut off, which leaves Yang Tianxing without a clue for the moment.

"Could it be that I really have to go into lottery tickets and stocks?" This thought just appears in Yang Tianxing's mind before he rejects it himself.

It wouldn't be easy to explain if someone were to investigate his startup capital in the future.

"If all else fails, I'll just borrow the ideas of some predecessors: do campus delivery and then sell it at a high price, and finally copycat some mobile phones. I won't touch the finance or real estate industries, but I always feel like I'm just parroting others," Yang Tianxing sighs.

"It's all damn well because I don't have a system! I've already been reborn, would it kill you to give me a system!"

Yang Tianxing complains for a while and decides to stop thinking about it for now. Anyway, with the wisdom of his predecessors as a foundation, he will just wait and see what the future variables bring.

Seeing Yang Tianxing come out after his shower, Gao Meilan takes a watermelon out of the refrigerator and puts it on the table.

Seeing the iced watermelon, Yang Tianxing gives a "hehe" laugh: "My own mother still loves me the most."

"All you have left is that mouth of yours."

Gao Meilan looks at her energetic son and is actually quite satisfied. Although her son isn't that obedient, his studies are at least something to be proud of.

Even though it's a second-tier university, he can still take the postgraduate entrance exam later. She looks at the admission letter on the table again, and a sense of relief suddenly washes over her.

Raising a child until they go to college requires a lot of effort, both financially and mentally.

"In another four years, Old Yang and I can relax, and then we can help take care of our granddaughters and grandsons. I don't ask for anything else in this life."

This is the life that Gao Meilan, a middle-aged woman in Jinzhou, looks forward to.

Just as Gao Meilan is thinking this, with a "creak," Yang Jianjun pushes the door open and enters.

"Old Yang is back!" Yang Tianxing waves to greet him.

Yang Jianjun is usually a man of few words; Gao Meilan often says he "can't even fart after half a day." Yet Yang Tianxing has an active mind and doesn't care much for rules when doing things.

So even when his only son greets him, Yang Jianjun only gives a faint "hmm," merely looking at Yang Tianxing's damp hair and the water droplets on his body: "Put on your pajamas, don't catch a cold."

Then he silently walks to the living room and turns the air conditioner temperature up.

"Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling," the landline in the house rings. Yang Tianxing doesn't pay it any mind and goes to put on his pajamas; in truth, he is mostly just lazy, as the landline is several meters away from the sofa.

Gao Meilan glances sideways at her son and picks up the phone: "Hello? Who is this?"

A crisp, pleasant voice rings out from the other side: "Hello, Aunt Gao~ It's me, Tan Zhizhi!"

"Oh, it's Little Zhizhi. Auntie hasn't seen you in so long..." Gao Meilan says enthusiastically.

Tan Zhizhi is beautiful, does well in school, and has all sorts of talents; she is simply much more popular than a slacker like Yang Tianxing. It's not for nothing that she's called the princess of Jinzhou No. 1 High School.

Coupled with the fact that both sets of parents are in the system and the two have been classmates for three years, the two families are considered quite close.

"Aunt Gao, I miss you too. When I have time after starting university, I'll come to see you."

"Good, good, good. Little Zhizhi is as beautiful and sensible as ever. You're looking for Yang Tianxing, right? I'll call him over."

"Yang Tianxing!!! Hurry up and come over, Little Zhizhi is calling for you!"

On the other end of the phone, Tan Zhizhi hears Gao Meilan scolding her son to hurry up and smiles happily.

"What is it? Didn't we just see each other this morning?" Yang Tianxing says, somewhat impatiently.

Hearing Yang Tianxing's impatient voice, Tan Zhizhi says coldly: "The graduation party tomorrow afternoon starts at five o'clock. Be there on time."

"We'll see. Not necessarily on time," Yang Tianxing says, and hangs up the phone.

"Beep, beep, beep..." Tan Zhizhi cannot believe that Yang Tianxing actually hung up so decisively. In the past, whenever she wanted to hang up, Yang Tianxing would pester her to keep chatting.

In fact, Tan Zhizhi can feel that Yang Tianxing's attitude toward her has changed.

Previously, although Yang Tianxing wouldn't be servile like other boys, he was always very good to her when they were together. But now, he seems to not even have her in his eyes at all.

"After refusing him, can we not even be friends anymore?"

Tan Zhizhi thinks silently to herself, feeling a bit angry. Some boys have been rejected by her a dozen times, yet their attitude toward her never changed at all.

She doesn't know what's wrong with her; thinking that Yang Tianxing won't be good to her anymore makes her nose feel sore.

Tan Qingwu looks at Tan Zhizhi, whose eyes are slightly red after finishing the call, and hurriedly asks: "What's wrong, daughter?"

As the deputy bureau chief in charge of criminal investigation, Tan Qingwu keenly sensed the change in his daughter's mood and asked tentatively.

"I'm fine, Dad."

Tan Zhizhi sniffled her cute little nose: "I'm going to go sleep for a while first."

"Alright, alright, alright. In a little while, Dad will finish cooking and call you to get up."

The deputy bureau chief, who was a daughter-doting father, said in a gentle tone.

After Tan Zhizhi went into the bedroom, Tan Qingwu thought silently while chopping vegetables: "Could my daughter be dating someone?"